2 days ago
4 arrested in connection with mail theft investigation
Four men have been arrested in connection with a mail theft investigation in the Pittsburgh area.
On June 4, a man tried to rob a mail carrier with the United States Postal Service at gunpoint in Bridgeville. Two days later, another worker was robbed at gunpoint at the Upper St. Clair Post Office.
Now, four young men have been taken into custody.
Stolen Father's Day card leads to 4 arrests
Marcella Swigart said she was scared and nervous when she learned a Father's Day card she mailed to her dad was found inside a car pulled over by Mt. Lebanon police officers on Tuesday morning. The card, which had a $40 check inside, was mailed from her local post office.
"My mail was found in a car, and they were trying to link robberies or something like that," Swigart said.
Police arrested four men, and the United States Postal Inspection Service said at least one of the men is connected to the armed robbery at the post office in Upper St. Clair and the attempted armed robbery of a mail carrier in Bridgeville.
"Disbelief," Swigart said. "It felt unreal. I don't really know how to describe it."
According to the criminal complaint, a Mt. Lebanon woman who lives near the Cedarhurst Post Office called 911 to report a suspicious vehicle parked on the road. She told police she saw two men dressed in black running back and forth from the car to the post office.
Law enforcement pulled the car over a little later and found Swigart's empty envelope inside.
"Why would people do this," Swigart said. "Just go to work. Be a normal person, be a good member of society. "
During the robbery in Upper St. Clair, police said the suspects got away with post office skeleton keys, which are designed to fit many different locks. The criminal complaint said skeleton keys have been used at least three times in the last month to steal from mailboxes on Bower Hill Road and Castle Shannon Boulevard.
"The police officers told me they said don't mail anything other than a card. Don't send any money. Don't send any checks, use Venmo or Zelle," Swigart said.
Although the U.S. postal inspectors said one of the men arrested is involved in the robbery and attempted robbery last week, none of them face charges for those crimes at this time.
